Properties of Minerals 4.1

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Vocab

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mineral- a natural crystal-structured solid
inorganic- something that cannot arise from something that was lining.
solid- something with definite shape and volume
crystal- little particles that come from a mineral that forms a solid
element- a substance composed of a type of atom
compound- two or more elements combined
Moh's Hardness Scale- a scale that measures the hardness of minerals
streak- the color of a mineral's powder
luster- how light reflects from a mineral's surface
cleavage- the property that splits easily along flat surfaces
fracture- he outlook after a mineral breaks in an unfashionably way.
fluorescence- the property where minerals grow under ultra-violet light.

Outline

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What is a Mineral?

• many minerals
  • about 3,000 minerals found
    • only 100 are common
• earth's crust has minerals
  • 20 minerals make earth's crust

Naturally Occuring

• substances
  • occur naturally
• building materials
  • manufactured by people

Inorganic

• minerals
  • must be inorganic
• coal
  • forms naturally in earth's crust

Solid

• minerals
  • always solid
    • has definite volume and shape
• minerals packed up tightly
  • then it can't move

Crystal Structure

• particles of minerals
  • line up in pattern
    • becomes a crystal
• crystals
  • have flat faces
    • but they are sharp

Definit Chemical Compositon

• elements
  • a subtance composed
    • single kind of atom
• compounds
  • two or more elements
    • combined together

Identifying Minerals

• Gold Rush
  • lots of gold found
    • people became rich

Hardness

• Identifying minerals
  • check hardness
• Mohs hardness scale
  • can compare a mineral's hardness

Color

• color
  • can be used to identify minerals
    • few minerals have characteristic color

Streak

• Streak Tests
  • provide clues to mineral's identity
    • minerals and streak colors are often different

Luster

• the glint from a mineral
  • when the reflection is shiny, it's often metal
  • there are many types of luster
  • you could use the luster of a mineral to identify that mineral

Density

• the density of a mineral always stays the same no matter what size it is
• minerals are also placed in water to see how much water it displaces
• there are lots of equations to do to find the density of a mineral

Crystal Systems

• many minerals have crystal structures
  • atoms form these crystals
  • there are six particular groups of crystals
• when crystals form, other things interfere it from growing to its potential outcome
  • many minerals have different types of crystal structures

Cleavage and Fracture

• cleavage is when a mineral breaks easily on a flat surface
  • different mineral's cleavages look different
  • some cleavages are smooth, and some cleavages are rough
• fracture is when a mineral breaks awkwardly
  • metals usually have a rough, jagged fracture
  • quartz has a shell-like fracture that is smooth

Special Properties

• when minerals glow in the dark, it is called fluorescence
  • some minerals fizz
  • some minerals also can be electric
  • because of some of the properties minerals have, other things that are placed on the mineral makes it do unique things

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